Slow Horses has adapted Mick Herron’s Slough House novels in publication order, one book per season, for its first five seasons. Season 6 is the first to combine two books: Joe Country and Slough House. That’s worth knowing if you’re reading along, because the season covers two books’ worth of plot.
Seasons and books
| Season | Book adapted | Book published | Season premiered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slow Horses | 2010 | April 1, 2022 |
| 2 | Dead Lions | 2013 | December 2, 2022 |
| 3 | Real Tigers | 2016 | November 29, 2023 |
| 4 | Spook Street | 2017 | September 4, 2024 |
| 5 | London Rules | 2018 | September 24, 2025 |
| 6 | Joe Country and Slough House | 2019 and 2021 | September 16, 2026 |
Every season streams on Apple TV, which is the show’s only home.
Watch or read first?
Each season is built on its book’s main case, so reading ahead is likely to spoil the season’s major twists. If you care about spoilers, watch each season before reading its book. The novels do give you more of the characters’ inner lives, and several running jokes land better once you know where they come from.
You don’t need the books to follow the show. The series re-introduces the characters and threads it needs as it goes.
Where season 6 fits
Season 6 releases weekly on Apple TV from September 16 to October 21, 2026. Episodes are dated Wednesdays, and the premiere was reported as available from 9 p.m. ET the evening before. Our season page has each episode’s title and date.
What’s left to adapt
After Slough House, two main novels remain: Bad Actors (2022) and Clown Town (2025). Wikipedia lists them as the basis for seasons 7 and 8, but Apple hasn’t announced dates. Herron has also written five Slough House novellas (2015–2022), collected in one edition in 2022. The series hasn’t adapted those as seasons.
Reading order for the books
- Slow Horses (2010)
- Dead Lions (2013)
- Real Tigers (2016)
- Spook Street (2017)
- London Rules (2018)
- Joe Country (2019)
- Slough House (2021)
- Bad Actors (2022)
- Clown Town (2025)
Sources
Found an error? Report a correction. We update dates as broadcasters change them.
